Edgartown Great Pond Receives State Assistance

By MANDY LOCKE

Edgartown's beloved Great Pond, a delicate balance of fresh and salt water that has become fragile as a result of the burdens of development, is at the top of the state's priority list to receive a comprehensive estuary restoration plan.

"They will essentially hand us the tools for managing the watershed and an understanding of the mechanics of doing that," said Tom Wallace, president of the Great Pond Foundation, a nonprofit group formed in 1999 to protect the health of the pond.

John Ferguson Guides Hospital Into the Future

By JULIA WELLS
Gazette Senior Writer

He's the quiet guy from New Jersey who kept his head down for nearly two years while the Martha's Vineyard Hospital lurched from one crisis to the next, unable to right itself in a stormy sea of bad faith and poor community relations.

Now John Ferguson is the man at the helm, and he is determined to steer the Island's only hospital in a new direction.

Blame it on terrorism, the stock market tumble or the fine weather that kept tourists on their beach blankets and away from downtown shops. Whatever the reason, it's been a lackluster summer at the cash register for most, but not all, Island businesses.

The vocal critics and Monday morning analysts peddle doomsday scenarios about the Steamship Authority with increasing regularity, and while the voices may vary, the message is unchanged: The financial condition of the boat line is precarious, the future is riddled with uncertainty, and there is no money to pay for future capital projects.

Having been a female reporter in Vietnam, Denby Fawcett said, "We belong to an exclusive club that can accept no new members.

Tough-talking members of the regional high school committee questioned last week whether they want to play the high-stakes game known as MCAS and make passing the standardized test a requirement for graduation.